Finally got my Ascends

[bikeman]

In addition to turning the switch to out turn the crossover all the way up not down to zero.

Yes, definitely. Good catch, Quinn.

David

[BGHD]

It's gotta be a calibration problem. For me, before and after calibration (mainly just distances and trim level), was a night and day difference. At first, I felt sorta the same as you. It took me a solid week to figure out my new HK receiver. But, once I did and I popped in a good SACD, it brought a smile to my face. Gotta read that Marantz manual and get an SPL meter, dude. Made a huge difference for me. It's impossible that it's the speakers

[shoboat90]

In addition to turning the switch to out turn the crossover all the way up not down to zero.

The crossover frequency on my STF-2 only goes from 30 - 90Hz.......where is this zero you guys are talking about???

thanks
jim

[FibreKid]

No not zero, 90 in your case.

[davef]

David, I put a Maroon 5 acoustic CD, just on 2-channel and it sounded more balanced. I still didn't get stands, so all the mounting is temporary (the CBM's sitting over old 3-way speakers).

Hi Jorge59

I think things will start improving dramatically once the system is properly calibrated and the speakers are properly positioned. Also, placing speakers on top of other speakers is generally not a good idea. (I know you mentioned this is only temporary). The pressures created by the active speaker will influence subtle movements in the unused speakers sitting underneath and this can cause all sorts of problems..

Also, it is important to understand that you are used to listening to a completely different type of speaker system. One that is designed not for accuracy but to sound impressive for its size. Usually, these type of sub/sat systems have large boosts in the 100-400Hz range to make them sound warm and "BIG"... While this might be enjoyable to listen to, it is not accurate sound reproduction.

Spend some time listening to good quality 2-channel music with the CBM-170 and the properly calibrated subwoofer, or even no subwoofer. Listen carefully to subtleties of the music, vocalists breaths, guitar harmonics, wind instruments resonances, try to imagine the actual locations of these individual instruments within the soundstage.. Try this for a few nights and then listen to the same recordings with your previous loudspeakers....

I have searched everywhere to try and find a frequency response graph of your old loudspeakers, I think there might be a reason I was unsuccessful. If you find one, please let me know... I would be curious as to what it looked like.

We are here to help!

[Quinn]

The crossover frequency on my STF-2 only goes from 30 - 90Hz.......where is this zero you guys are talking about???

thanks
jim

I suspect the zero is actually the phase switch.

[BGHD]

In addition to turning the switch to out turn the crossover all the way up not down to zero.

I thought once you set it to 'out', it disables the crossover so it didn't matter what the xover was set to.

[curtis]

It does...but it doesn't hurt to make double sure.

[Jorge59]

Hello guys,

Today I tested the CBM-170 against B&Ws, in 2 different professional set ups, utilizing an audiophile 24K gold plated CD (Patricia Barber) and van den hul speaker cabling. No sub used.

1) High end set up: Rotel amplifier + Rotel processor + Denon 3910 player with 3 different B&W models (705, DM-600 and DM-303).

2) Hi-fi set up: Denon 1905 receiver + Panasonic player, with 2 B&W models (VM-1 and DM-600) and two levels of speaker cables ($ 8/m and $ 25/m).

As far as I my perception could feel, I found the CBMs to compete with the lower B&W 300 line. Although the CBM middles stood up strongly, the B&W seemed to be more refined, detailed and a little brighter. Surely the B&W yield more soundstage and imaging (the voice seems to get out of the speakers as if the singer was standing in the middle of the room, while in the CBM she sang from inside the speaker). The B&W aluminum tweeters give much more presence and sustain in the cymbals and the bass seemed clearer. Anyway, I prefered the guitar on the CBM. Let's consider the handicap that my CBMs aren't yet burned in.

The DM-600 is one full step above the DM-303 and Ascend (still more soundstage, definition and frequecy balance).

The 705 are in a complete different league. It would be a coward match.

In the second set up, the feeling was the same. The B&W are more refined. The VM-1 has a different imaging too, but seems to be in the same league of the CBM.

Then, for a little while, we tested the CMT in one channel. The CMT tweeter presence stood up closer to the B&Ws. Their bass strength exceeded both the VM-1 and the DM-600, but then the stronger extremes maybe overcame the middles which seemed a little laid back compared to the CBM.

So, I must clarify: I found the excellent middles of the CBM. It's a great speaker. Most likely my initial problem (at home) was that I'm using crappy speaker cables (that make everything sound laid back). Probably, the "emergency" wires I used to test my new Ascends were killing the voice and so on.

Wondering how the cables may affect the sound, we tested the $8/m cables vs the $25/m one (these are the US$ prices in Brazil, probably twice the price in the USA). I must tell everybody who read the "Top 10 Audio Lies" article and believed that the cables have no influence in the sound: it does have an important influence. Each cable prints like a "sonic signature" on the overall result. Of course, it won't be noticeable if you're using crappy equipment, if the room acoustic is bad or if the source is poor. But, if the system is good, well calibrated and the listener pay due attention to the details, he may find the cymbals souding 'sssssssssss' i/o 'chchchchchchh', the voice and details clearer and so on.

At the audiophile's studio he made (in his computer) a common copy of the Patricia Barber CD which I brought home and played in 2-channel on my LG player + Marantz 8400 + CBM + STF-2. I'm getting used to it...and the sound was quite nice (even with the crappy cables). I put the SW to "out", speakers to small etc...

Next week the guy will come to my apartment to evaluate the HT room (WxLxH=3m x 3,5m x 3m) and help me plan the new set up. He will supply the stands and cabling and calibrate the Marantz.

I'm still far from a decent system. My LG player is too simple a source, I didn't bring the HTM-200 surrounds and the room acoustics is not that good. But one day I'll get there.

I'll keep you informed on new developments.

[Quinn]

The 170s shouldn't have sounded like the voice was coming from the speaker. Did you have anything between the speakers while trying them?